What Shade does

Shade – Sociedade de Higiene e Aluguer, Lda is a Portuguese private limited company that provides operational textile rental, professional hygiene and sanitization, and nationwide collection and delivery services for workwear, cloths, carpets, and footwear. The company serves B2B clients across all industries in mainland Portugal and the islands, eliminating the need for clients to invest capital in clothing stock by managing the full lifecycle — selection, fitting, adaptation, repair, replacement, laundering, and logistics. A multidisciplinary consulting team works directly with clients to specify fabrics and models suited to each activity.

The core technology stack is an RFID tracking system reinforced with EAN barcodes on every article, combined with a customer-facing online portal that exposes the complete history of collected and sanitized items. Shade complements rental with in-house sewing and repair, in Portugal-based custom manufacturing of professional workwear, and a logistics fleet whose vehicles are designed to separate clean and dirty laundry. Laundry operations are certified to NP EN ISO 9001:2015, and dedicated per-client treatment areas are used to eliminate cross-contamination.

The business model is recurring subscription-style operational rental: clients pay an ongoing service fee that bundles stock, maintenance, hygiene, and logistics, with quote-based, non-public pricing positioned as transparent and without initial capital outlay. Shade is a subsidiary of the Smart Family Portuguese cleaning and hygiene group, markets through its website plus LinkedIn and Facebook, and runs an enterprise field-sales motion with direct consultant engagement. The company is private, family-controlled through Smart Family, with no disclosed funding rounds and 11-50 employees.

Name

Shade

Legal name

Shade – Sociedade de Higiene e Aluguer, Lda

Website

https://shade.pt

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shade is a Portuguese B2B provider of operational textile rental, professional hygiene and sanitization, and nationwide collection-and-delivery services for workwear, cloths, carpets, and footwear, serving companies across all industries throughout Portugal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Textile Rental and Laundry Services

NAICS

Linen and Uniform Supply (81233)

SIC

Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments (2320)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential & Small Business Uniform Rental Service (HSAJAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bed & Bath Linen Service (Sheets, Pillowcases, Bath Mats) (HSAJAMAH)

Keywords

• Textile rental services
• Industrial laundry services
• Workwear rental
• Uniform cleaning services
• Professional hygiene services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cos

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Operational Textile Rental: Operational rental of workwear, cloths, carpets, and footwear with integrated hygiene services, collection and delivery logistics. Customers pay for the service without initial investment in clothing stocks, with adaptations, repairs, and substitutions included in the service.
2. Hygiene and Sanitization Services: Professional textile hygiene services with dedicated treatment areas for each client, eliminating cross-contamination risks. Services include collection, cleaning, repair, replacement, and delivery.
3. Custom Textile Manufacturing: Development and confection of professional workwear and clothing from scratch in Portugal, selected for comfort and resistance according to client activity requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Shade provides operational rental of workwear, professional clothing, cloths, carpets, and footwear to B2B clients across Portugal, with integrated collection, professional hygiene/sanitization, repair, substitution, and delivery logistics. Clients access the service without initial capital investment in stock, and Shade manages the entire value chain including manufacturing, tailoring, tracking via RFID, and nationwide logistics.

Product overview

Shade operates as a unified rental and cleaning service platform offering operational textile rental (Aluguer de Vestuário de Trabalho), logistics (Serviço Logístico), repair and replacement (Reparação e Substituição), and textile sanitization (Higienização Têxtil) as interconnected core services. These are complemented by the Fardas e Vestuário Profissional textile selection and tailoring offering and the standalone Higiene cleaning service. The portfolio works as an integrated ecosystem where the client receives personalized consulting, no initial investment, stock management, regular sanitization with RFID tracking, and scheduled collection/delivery—all managed transparently by Shade.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aluguer de Vestuário de Trabalho (Workwear Rental) Operational rental of work clothing and professional uniforms, including model development and tailoring in Portugal, with no initial investment required from the client. Includes adaptations, repairs, and substitutions.
• Serviço Logístico (Logistics Service) Collection and delivery service for uniforms across the entire national territory of Portugal, with vehicles equipped to separate dirty and clean clothing to prevent cross-contamination.
• Reparação e Substituição (Repair and Substitution) In-house sewing and repair service for clothing requiring maintenance, with immediate replacement for items showing wear or damage.
• Higienização Têxtil (Textile Sanitization) Professional textile sanitization with RFID tracking and EAN barcodes for each article, allowing clients online access to the complete history of collected and sanitized items. ISO 9001:2015 certified.
• Fardas e Vestuário Profissional (Professional Uniforms and Clothing) Selection, development, and tailoring of comfortable and resistant professional clothing fabrics manufactured in Portugal according to client activity requirements.
• Higiene (Hygiene Services) Professional hygiene services for work clothing, cloths, rugs, and footwear with integrated collection and delivery service. Dedicated treatment areas per client eliminate cross-contamination risks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero initial investment for clients - stock acquisition and management handled entirely by Shade
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Smart FamilycoreOthersShade is a company belonging to the Smart Family group, a Portuguese group operating in the cleaning and hygiene sector. The group includes Smart Family with logo displayed on Shade's contact page.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UniFirst Corporation: UniFirst is a North American uniform rental and cleaning services company with a direct B2B subscription model focused on work apparel and linen programs. Comparable to Shade in recurring rental economics and route-based service.
• Elis: Elis is the European leader in flat linen, workwear, and hygiene-wellness rental with subscription-based B2B service across Iberia and the rest of Europe. It is the closest scale competitor to Shade's workwear/cloth/carpet rental model.
• Cintas: Cintas is the largest US uniform rental and services company, operating a recurring B2B subscription model for workwear, mats, towels, and facility services. Although US-led, it is the benchmark competitor in the industrial uniform rental space Shade operates in.
• Alsco: Alsco is a family-owned global uniform and linen rental company with operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its industrial uniform, towel, and mat rental programs directly mirror Shade's recurring workwear-and-textile offering.
• ImageFIRST Healthcare Laundry Specialist: ImageFIRST is a US linen and uniform rental specialist serving healthcare and hospitality customers with subscription contracts and traceability features. Comparable to Shade in hygiene-focused linen/uniform subscription service.
• Mission Linen Supply: Mission Linen Supply is a family-owned US industrial linen and uniform rental company offering recurring B2B programs for workwear, hospitality linen, and mats. Directly comparable to Shade on the industrial textile-rental subscription model.
• Vestis Corporation: Vestis is a US-focused uniform and workplace supplies business that was spun out of Aramark in 2023 and serves B2B customers on recurring rental and service contracts. It overlaps with Shade on subscription workwear and ancillary textile services.
• Johnson Service Group: Johnson Service Group is a UK-listed provider of textile rental and workplace services through brands such as Johnsons Workwear and Clean. It competes in the same B2B uniform, linen and mat rental category as Shade.

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo: Sodexo is a French multinational facility management and food services company with an on-site services portfolio that includes workwear and textile-related offerings for B2B clients. Overlaps with Shade at the textile-services boundary while competing across many other categories.
• Aramark: Aramark is a global facility services and uniform/apparel supplier whose Uniform & Apparel segment competes in the same workwear rental space as Shade, but it operates a much broader food, facilities, and uniform portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pt.shade
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shade-rental-cleaning

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shade